Random Ramblings
by DarkHighNoon
Summary: A collection of drabbles and one shots with no place elsewhere. Canon pairings, mostly AH/AU. Forever in progress. T for language of some stories.
1. Chapter 1

**A Bike, a Coffee Shop, and a Little ****Persuasion**

Edward/Bella  
AH, AU

* * *

I put on my light jacket I had been carrying as the wind picked up slightly. It was starting to get a little cold out, and I was trying to forget about how everyone was so excited about the dance next weekend. I couldn't dance and I hadn't asked anyone either.

"Bella!" I looked behind me to see none other than Edward Masen riding his bike and smiling at me. When he saw I was looking he sped up until he was side by side with me. "Hey, Bella." he flashed me his wonderful crooked grin.

"Hi, Edward. What are you doing on this side of town? Don't you live over on the other side of SoHo? What are you doing clear over here anyway?"

"Yeah, but I wanted to talk to you after school, and I got out late so you were already headed home."

"Oh. Well...what did you want to talk about?"

He licked his lips and glanced around. The sidewalk was a little more crowded up ahead. We wouldn't be able to walk or in his case ride side by side anymore once we got there.

"Bella, why don't you hop on my handle bars and we'll go to this nice little coffee shop up ahead. They have some awesome non-coffee drinks there and good music with a nice seating area. We could talk about it there. Yeah?"

I laughed. "I am not riding on your handle bars, Edward. And you know how cheesy you just made that sound?"

Well, why not? Its perfectly safe to sit on them. And my balance is much better than yours, for instance."

"Because, I don't trust you enough to be able to handle the extra weight in such an odd area. Plus, I'd probably fall on my ass just trying to get on there!"

"First off, Miss Klutzilla, I have given my little sister a ride on here before, who is only a little smaller than you, and second I'll help you on so you won't fall on your backside. Besides...I'd never let you fall in my presence. Your much too pretty to have bruises and scrapes all over you."

Oh he was really turning on the charm, this one.

"Alright...fine. But only because of the crowd up ahead. And the coffee shop idea sounds wonderful right about now."

He smiled and came to a stop so he could help me up. Once I was settled it wasn't so bad. Edward leaned into my ear and asked, "Ready? It'll be a bit odd to you when we start moving."

I bit my lip and nodded. "I think so."

"Great." I could hear the smile in his voice.

A moment later we were moving at a leisurely speed towards the crowd of people up ahead. They frowned at us, but I didn't care and by Edward's snickering he didn't either. We turned a sharp corner where I thought I'd fall, but Edward wrapped one arm around my waist to keep me put. A few moments later we were in front of a cute little coffee shop that looked like it was aimed at high school and college students.

Edward stopped the bike and I hoped off when he offered me a hand. He leaned the bike up against a post next to the building and locked it into place with the bike lock wrapped around one of the support bars below the seat. He held the door open for me and we walked in and over to the counter to order something to drink.

He ordered the pick of the day and I had a strawberry-banana smoothie. We got our drinks and picked a small table in a corner with only two chairs.

I raised an eyebrow at his drink. "I thought you said something about some 'awesome non-coffee' drinks?"

"I did." He sounded confused.

"They why did you get-"

"I'm okay with coffee. Its you, Bella, who doesn't like it."

"How did you know that? What? Are you like stalking me now or something?"

"You and Alice were arguing over your distaste for it in the hallway yesterday. I was walking right in front of you."

"Oh." I felt embarrassed about trying to call him out. I could already feel the bright red blush spreading across my face. I took a long drink of my smoothie to try and help it calm down. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

He whispered under his breath, but I still heard him. "And she changes the subject to help ward off the embarrassment." He cleared his throat and spoke the next part to me. "Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the Sadie Hawkins dance with me."

I blanched. This was the last thing that I thought he would want to talk about. "Isn't it supposed to be the girls who ask out the guys for this one?" I raised an eyebrow at him and he smirked, but I could see a slight blush tinting his cheeks.

"Well, yeah, but its next weekend and you haven't asked anybody. I mean...half the guys in our grade held out until this week thinking you would ask them."

"What makes you think I'd want to go with you anyway, Edward?" I was trying to pretend I didn't hear the part about the other guys from school.

"Well, Miss Bella Swan...you are shy. Very shy in fact. And I'm not your best friend or anything like Mary Alice, but I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't even think twice about asking out a guy. Its too far out of your comfort zone. And I really wanted to go to the dance with you, so I thought maybe if I brought it up first, then you'd either just say yes to me, or you'd be the snarky, feisty little firecracker I know you can be and turn it around and ask me to go with you."

"You know, for my lab partner whom I only see for forty-five minutes, five times a week, you know a lot about me. Especially since most of that time when we see each other we're either silent as the dead, or working as partners on some sort of science related subject."

He shrugged. "I like to observe people."

"Do you observe everybody, or just your biology partners?"

"No, I observe very beautiful, witty, and extremely smart brunettes." He was leaning forward and his eyes were much darker than I remembered them being.

I breathed in a ragged breath/gasp and looked at him, not knowing what to say.

"Bella, will you ask me to the dance next week?"

"Yes." And just like that he leaned forward and kissed me, moving our drinks to the side just to be safe. I couldn't wait till the Sadie Hawkins dance now.


	2. Chapter 2

**Brandon House of Fashion**

Bella  
AH, AU

* * *

Starbucks really needs to make a larger size. The three venti coffees I have each day just isn't doing it. I pick up my phone before the first ring finishes.

"Brandon House of Fashion, this is Bella. May I help you?"

"Yes, I need to speak with Ms. Brandon, please."

"I'm sorry sir, but Ms. Brandon is not taking any personal calls right now."

"Thank you." Rude. He hung up without letting me speak. This is how every day goes. For eight hours. I get calls from people who want to talk to Alice, and I say no. It sucks.


	3. Chapter 3

**Alouette_  
_**  
Edward/Bella  
Everything is canon-esque (thanks Virginia May for that one!)

* * *

_Plink. Plink plink plink. Plink plink. Plink plink plink...plink._

I could hear the sounds of my piano being played coming from inside. Which confused me because Rosalie - who was away on a trip with Emmett - was the only one besides myself who played the piano. And by the sound of it, the person playing wasn't very good. It almost sounded like how a small child would play their first song. Very slow and unsure.

I parked the Volvo and hurried up the steps to the front door and opened walked in as quietly as I could. I listened for something more, but all I heard was the same rhythm, the same keys, being plucked at again as well as a heartbeat that I knew all too well.

Bella?

I walked into the living room and saw Bella sitting at my piano over in the corner. Her brow was furrowed as she hunched over the keys. Playing the same thing each time, but adding one to the end to see if it fit with whatever she was playing, before starting over and picking another key until she figured out the next note. I sat down next to the wall and watched her. Fascinated. I didn't even know she could play anything other than the few easy songs I had taught her, by her request.

After a few more minutes she had figured out a couple more measures of the song, and I figured out that she was trying to play Alouette. I wanted to go to her then, but she was getting better as she went along, finding the next note easier as well, so I didn't want to interrupt her just yet. Five minutes later, and she had the first twenty four measures figured out, but was having more of an issue now.

I got up quietly and made my way over to her. Standing behind her, I reached around her and played the part that she had already figured out for her. There was a quiet intake of breath, and she spun around to look up at me.

"Edward! I didn't here you come in. How long have you been standing there, watching me?"

"About ten to fifteen minutes. Give or take." I shrugged not seeing anything wrong with it.

She smiled and shook her head. "Vampires need a warning label on them you know that?"

I held my hand out to her and she took it, standing up from the bench and giving me a hug. "And what would that be?" I kept my mouth shut about numerous reasons why we needed a warning label, just so I wouldn't ruin the sweet moment for her.

"Vampires: Quieter than the dead, sneakier than a fox."

I chuckled and looked down at her, pulling her chin up to look at me. "Really? Would you rather that I slammed doors and stomped around everywhere so you'd hear me?"

"No. I love you just the way you are, but sometimes its just...I don't know, odd? That you can sneak up on me like that."

"So, I'm _odd_?" I raised an eyebrow at her choice of wording.

"Well, not odd really. No. But I can't really think of a word to describe it."

"I see. Why were you trying to play Alouette?" Her heart beat spiked up when I said the song's name she had been playing. I'd have to look into why that was later.

"Its something that I remembered singing in school when I was younger. And since everyone else left earlier, I decided to try and figure it out on your piano while I waited for you."

"Could I hear you sing it sometime?"

She laughed. "Absolutely not! I would completely butcher all that French. It would be embarrassing and horrible." Bella buried her head against my chest to try and hide from me.

"Okay, love. I won't push you to do it..."

She looked up at me from her 'hiding spot'. "I can feel a 'but' coming here."

"But...what if I sang it with you? Then would you sing for me?"

"No!" Her eyes were wide as saucers and she was shouting. "I mean...singing with you..." Her face scrunched up as she shook her head. "I'd just sound even worse then."

"Bella, you shouldn't say that. I bet you have a wonderful singing voice."

"Yeah, and then I'd sing and you'd find out I was right, but you'd tell me I sounded beautiful just to make me feel better. I'm not that thick, Edward." She looked sternly at me as if she were serious, but I couldn't help laughing at her.

"Bella. Honestly. And you tell me I beat myself up too much."

She sighed. "Yes, but you beat yourself up over things much bigger than singing, Edward." Before I could say anything she turned and sat back at the piano, patting the seat next to her. "If I'm singing, you are playing."

I smiled and took the seat next to her. After the first couple words came out of Bella's mouth, I stumbled. Her voice was much better than I ever anticipated. I had no clue where she ever got the idea that she couldn't sing, but she was definitely wrong.

"Edward?" I looked over at her and blinked.

"Yeah?" I blinked again. It seemed that was all I could really do.

"See! I told you I was horrible."

"Bella, no. You're...amazing. I mean it. It just...I mean I figured you'd be good as singing, I just...didn't know you'd be that good."

She shrugged. "Do you really think so?"

"I know so. Now, tell me. How on earth did you get it into that head of yours that you couldn't sing?"

Her smiled faded and she blushed, turning away and looking at the piano keys again. "When I was little I used to sing all the time. Then Renee talked me into doing this pageant thing when I was seven. My talent was supposed to be singing since I couldn't really dance or anything else without falling. I thought I did really well, but when the time came for the prizes and stuff...I didn't win for the talent competition, so I assumed that I couldn't sing and ever since then its just kinda been ingrained in my head that I'm a horrible singer. I even stopped singing at home unless I was alone in my room with the music turned up really loud."

"Bella, those shows are stupid and for people who have to have trophies to feel good about themselves and like to boost their ego. Its usually fixed anyway."

She signed. "I know, but its just hard to get out of me head since I've thought that way for ten years now."

"Well, then," I put my finger under her chin and made her look back up at me. "I'll just have to make you sing for me every day from now on while I tell you how good you are until you believe me."

"Ugh. Edward." Bella pushed me playfully on my shoulder and just to see her giggle, I pretended to fall off the piano bench from her shove. It worked. She flushed again and giggled.

"Edward...what on earth did you do that for?"

I got up and wrapped my arms around her waist, kissing her neck in the process. "To see you laugh. And watch that beautiful blush color your cheeks again."

She turned to look at me and smiled sadly. "You're too good to me."

"I am not. You deserve to be treated much better but you won't let me."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really."

"Oh would you two shut up! I mean I get it. You two really love each other. I can't deny you that when I can feel what you're feeling, but seriously. This much..." We both turned to see Jasper shaking his head as he walked out of the room. Alice came in and smiled at us.

"Sorry guys. I tried to get him to not burst your little bubble, but he said something about the strength of your emotions was a lot for him to take in, and that he needed to try and shut you both down for a while."

Bella was hiding her face in my shirt again. I could feel the heat from her cheeks through it, which meant she probably looked like a cherry at the moment. "Its okay Alice. I think we just need to learn not to let go of the outside world so much."

Alice nodded and left to go find Jasper. I turned back to Bella to see her pouting.

"What is this for?" I tugged on her bottom lip gently with my thumb.

"I like our little bubble." She sounded as if she was trying not to whine about it.

"I like our little bubble too, but you know as well as I that its not the healthiest thing in the world, when we completely forget about everything going on around us."

"I know." She looked away for a moment before smiling wistfully.

"What are you thinking about?"

She looked up to me, eyes bright and filled with happiness. "Even from the beginning. That first lunch we shared, there was that bubble around us."

"So that's why you jumped when the bell rang?"

She nodded. "I was so immersed in you that I completely forgot where we were, so a shrill bell ringing was the last thing I thought I was going to hear."

"I always wondered why you did that." I kissed her forehead and pulled on her hand. "Come on, love. I think we should go do something so we don't get caught up in each other again. Like I said earlier, we both know its not healthy for us to do that for too long."

"Okay."


	4. Chapter 4

**The Princess and the Surfer**

Alice/Jasper  
AH, AU

* * *

"Got a light?"

I turn to see a beautiful fae next to me. I nod, and dig around my pocket for my lighter.

"There you go, princess."

"Call me a princess again and I'll kick your ass, surfer dude."

"I'm not even close to a surfer dude sweetheart," I say pocketing my lighter again.

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that," she says beckoning me with a finger, as she walks back toward the car lot.

"What's your name pixie?"

"Alice."

"Well, Alice, I think I'll just have to take you up on that offer of yours."


	5. Chapter 5

**March of the Penguins**

Bella/Edward  
AH, AU

* * *

"This is stupid," I say as March of the Penguins comes up on the screen. The school thought this was an awesome 'reward' for those who kept a 4.0 GPA. Usually it's something semi-decent, like Shark Tale. Not this time.

"I heard there's Mighty Mouse cartoons after." I turn and see Edward Masen sitting next to me.

"Regardless. March of the fucking Penguins is stupid."

"We could ditch."

"And Banner?" I glance at the bio teacher manning the doors.

"He'll pass out in two minutes."

I look once more at the screen, then nod. Anything is better than the penguins.


End file.
